Thursday, February 09, 2012

Burdock Root/ Gobo Herbal Soup (牛蒡草药汤)

Gobo or burdock root has many health benefits. It is low in calories and contains a fair amount of fiber, calcium, amino acids and potassium, to list a few. It has been used traditionally as a medicinal herbs to treat many ailments. Said to be anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, disease prevention, blood purification and mild laxative. It can be eaten raw, stir-fry or boil in soup. I did a stir-fried version here. But I found it quite fibrous and not as suitable for young children.

You can read more about burdock root at wiki. I want to make it a habit of drinking this soup at least once a month.

I got this gobo at my Asian market here for 70 cents. I thought it's pretty reasonable but I had no idea whether it's cheaper at other Asian markets since this was the second time I bought this. But I have a very bad habit, I don't compare prices when I shop for Asian vegetable, I just buy whatever vegetable that look fresher and would last through a week in my refrigerator. If you ask me how much are the prices of broccoli, green bean, asparagus, celery, cabbage, brussels sprout, onion, carrot, cauliflower per lb when on sales, I would be able to tell you. But none of the Asian vegetables I could tell as I don't look at the price, I just grab and in the cart it goes. Anyone of you behave the same way?

My version of gobo soup, I added carrot, honey and red dates to increase the sweetness of this soup. This soup is naturally sweet, just a little bit of salt to complete it.

Ingredients:

1 gobo/ burdock root (~0.52lb), peel and cut into 1.5 inch, soak in water until ready to use

3 chicken drumsticks, rinse

2 organic carrots, peel and cut into 1.5 inch

2 honey dates, rinse

8-10 red dates, rinse

1/8 cup wolfberries/gojiberries/ ke chi, rinse

1.5 l/ 50 ounces filtered water

Season to taste with iodized salt

Method:

1. In a large saucepan, add in filtered water and let it boil.

2. When boiling, add in drumsticks. Scoop out as much impurities as you can.

3. Add in the rest of the ingredients. Turn the heat to low and simmer for at least 3 hours.

I do the same too, for me its more of the convenience of looking for the ingredients. Because I stay quite far away from the city, I just grab without looking at the prices.

I have seen this root but have never given a try. Next time instead of lotus root, I will try for a change with burdock. This soup is healthy with lots of fiber and I learned to cook similar soups from my Chinese friends.

I think the same applies to me when I see fresh peaches or rhubarb.I just grab it while it's still available and of course, the best looking ones, don't really care about the price. If I think too much, then the next time I want to buy it, it may not be available anymore. BTW, I love Gobo soup too.